Collateral Damage
by Mariia M
Summary: Have you ever felt a weird feeling that you can't explain? That it's just there, waiting for you to explore it? That's exactly what Connor felt that morning. So he explored it, knowing that it may end in a total disaster. And knowing the collateral damage that he can cause.
1. 1- Burning

He woke up with a strange feeling in his chest. It wasn't anger, or sadness, or disappointment. No. It was... it was almost _joy._ It was a burning sensation, but it wasn't burning enough to make him feel like if he was dying. So, the first thing he decided to do with it, was to try; try to keep himself from hurting someone, to keep himself from looking for a problem.

He walked to the bathroom with that in mind. He opened the faucet of the bathtub and started to get undressed, making sure that there were towels in there, and that the door was locked. He took a look at himself in the mirror. He didn't like his body; skinny, and full of self-made scars. He shook his head and walked slowly to the bathtub.

He got in quickly, trying to keep that sensation on him, and started to play with the water like a kid. He even got a rubber duck, which was hidden from his parents and sister.

 _Zoe._

He sighed heavily and a feeling of guilt started to grow in him. He didn't like to be like that. He didn't like hurting the ones that he loved, and himself.

With his family on his mind, he washed quickly and got out of there. He wanted a new start. Maybe that year was his year. He got out of the bath to his room, trying to find something comfortable. Everything black, for sure. Maybe, if he got to make a new friend, they could go buying books, video games, clothes... he felt almost like a girl. And he liked it. So he gave himself a little smile.

As he smiled, he got dressed faster than he thought, and got out of his room, smiling. But, he got back quickly. He forgot something.

If he wanted to start again, he would do it in a good way. He grabbed it and got out, smiling bigger, feeling like if he was a new person. He headed to his sister's room, trying to find the correct words to say.

He always wanted to tell her everything that she was for him. That her smile was one of the reasons why he wasn't dead, and everything that he noticed or wondered through all the years. But, how do you say I love you when you can't even keep yourself together?

He knocked the door softly, opening it only after she muttered a pass.

"Hey".

"You come to scream to me again, like yesterday?" he closed his eyes, trying to keep the tears inside. He opened them, only to see her sister walking out; he grabbed her arm slightly, winning a whine from her.

"Walk back. I swear I'm not going to hurt you" he put his hands on her shoulders, bringing her back to her room, closing the door behind them. "Take your sweater off, please" she took a glance at him while he sat on her desk's chair, facing her.

"I'm not doing it. Mom!" he got up quickly to cover her mouth with his hands, pushing her, so he was on top of her. He gave her a warning look; a look that showed that he knew whatever she was doing. When the _what's going on, sweetie?_ was there, she nodded and he took his hand out of her mouth. "Nothing! I found it!".

"Take. The goddamn. Sweater. Out" he was trying to keep himself together. He didn't want to hurt his sister. No more.

She looked at the wall behind him, feeling almost numb. He started to freak out as the seconds passed and she was doing nothing. He got up, pulling his hair back, and trying to not yell at her to take the fucking sweater. "You're going to take the sweater out? Or do I have to do it for you?" she sighed, clearly trying to pull the tears back. But she did nothing. She just sat up on the bed, still watching the wall. So, desesperated, he took a pair of scissors and approached to her; she started to fight, but, clearly, he was stronger than her; he ended up doing what he wanted, cutting the sweater's sleeves.

Pink, white, and red scars were there, along with a little amount of blood on the red ones. He threw the scissors somewhere and started licking the blood from the recent cuts. She pushed him, standing as far as she could from him.

"That was gross".

"And what you do is not?" he replied, keeping his anger inside.

"Is not like you don't do it".

"I'm different. I have no future, and no one loves me" his words got stuck in her head, just like if they were venom. When she got the courage to look at his eyes, he was crying.

"I love you. But you hurt me".

"AND YOU THINK THAT I'M NOT TRYING MY BEST TO KEEP ME FROM HURTING YOU, OR MOM, OR DAD, OR EVERY SINGLE FUCKING PERSON THAT GETS IN MY WAY?!" he punched a wall, and then he crashed his head with the same wall. She walked at him, and turned him to face her. And then, she just hugged him, crying hard, sobbing as loud as she could. He wrapped his arm around her in a protective way, and started to cry harder. There were angry footsteps coming to Zoe's room, and she pulled him even closer.

"You should go to finish your routine. Or, whatever that you do" they both laughed. He kissed her forehead and, with his sleeve, he wiped off all of her tears. She smiled a little, and he tousled her hair. When he finally got out, his mom was there.

"Did you hurt her?" he sighed in annoyance. Why they always thought that he hurt her?

"No. She's fine" he tried to smile and walked to his bedroom, taking his backpack and filling it with some necessary things, as well as his toothbrush and some toothpaste, 'cause he was certain that he was late. He ran downstairs, trying to go as fast as he could to get in time for school. For the first time in his life, he wanted to be there in time; so he took an apple and a yogurt, and stoped on the front door. "I'm going to school! Zoe! Are you coming?!".

"In a minute!".

"I'll wait!" and he did. He waited almost patiently for her. But, let's be real, the boy wasn't a patient guy at all. But he was trying, and hard. This time, he didn't yell, or did something to rush her, even though they were late.

A minute later, she got out with the keys of the car. She threw them at him and got into the car. He smiled and got into it too.

* * *

"Dear Evan Hansen, today is going to be an amazing day, and here's why..." he whispered to himself. "Today, all that you have to do, is survive another day. Then, we can get home and... and... well, do what is planned" he sighed, really tired of it. "I mean, if tomorrow I'm not in school, who would care?".

"I would care" Connor was behind him, with his arms crossed over his chest. The other man jumped on surprised, and then he froze. Connor Murphy was behind him. Jared told him a lot of stories about him, just like that he carried a gun on his backpack, or that he cutted himself, or that he killed someone. There where so many that he couldn't thinkof one at that moment. But the only story that he was able to confirm, was that he was damaged, and badly. "Look, I'm sorry. I'm fucked up, so I fuck up everything that I want to do right. But today I want to be a better shit and I will start saying that I'm sorry" he said, sincerely. His voice was full of shame and it heard a little bit broken.

"Why you would?" _fine, Evan. Now he's going to run like everyone else_ , he thought. Connor sighed, and pulled his sleeves up, showing his scars. He gave the shorter man a half smile, and got all his weight on the desk. Evan swore that he could listen to his own heart on his ears as he got closer to the taller man.

"Because I don't want you to be a shit like me. I don't want you to try to kill yourself. And, please, don't tell anyone that I actually have feelings, that will make me look like an adorable teddy bear and I don't fucking want that. Are we clear, Evan?" the shorter man nodded, and gave him a half smile.

But that was enough for Connor. He _knew_ that it was _enough._

* * *

 _Well, hey! I really love this musical, and so I wanted to bring something really different: the sweet side of Connor, the angry and sad side of Zoe, the angry side of Evan, and the lovely side of Jared.  
_

 _Any constructive critic is welcome! Feel free to give your opinion_


	2. 2- New Connor fucking Murphy

It was fine.

Everything was fine.

As he cried in the middle of the night, he told himself everything would be alright.

His mom wasn't at home. Like always.

The house was quiet.

The only thing he could hear were his sobs and little screams.

His phone buzzed.

It was Jared.

 _Hey kiddo, u awake? Folks rn't here, come over 4 a party!_

He just left his phone aside.

He was sweating.

His phone buzzed again.

He was tired and wanted to sleep, so he wanted to throw the goddamn phone away.

But it was an unknow number.

 _Hi, Evan. Wait, is this your number? I don't trust the weirdo with glasses. Anyway, I'm Connor._

His heart started to race as he typed.

 ** _Yeah, it's me. Why?_**

He waited almost patiently.

 _My parents are having this awful dinner with the Harrises, and I hate them. Can I go to your place? If you want to._

On the other side, the long haired boy was hiding his phone under the table. Zoe was doing the same thing.

The Harrises had this stupid twins, Vincent and Violet, and they were so annoying to the Murphy children's eyes. They were the gold kids who had lots of money.

All Connor could think of was taking the money from them to give it to Hansen. 'Cause damn, he cared about the kid a lot.

"Connor, can you tell Aaron what are you planning to study and where?" _only if I don't kill myself before_.

"English literature. I want to go to London" his dad was spechless, his mom was quite proud, and Zoe was smiling widely, looking at his brother like a proud mom. Larry cleared his troath before talking.

"I thought we talked about this, son. Being a lawyer is the right thing to do" that was all. Connor's hands where fists. Zoe took his brother's hand under hers and tried to calm him.

"Actually, dad, mom, Harrises, I want to go to London with Connor. I'm going to study Forensics" Larry was red in anger, which made the two siblings smile. "If you excuse us, we have some things to finish before going to bed".

"Things like my formulary" Connor added. They standed and walked the hell out of there. "Oh, and Vincent. You're stupid as fuck, mate; not even paying to Matt Holtzer makes you look smarter!" they both ran as they listened to Larry scream Connor's name, and their mom apologizing for his "imprudence language".

"I was talking to Alana, i'm going to her place" Connor looked at his sister playfully. "What? Oh. You're gay for Hansen, realize it, genius" she continued. They laughted untill they reached Connor's bedroom.

"Come into the wonderful place of darkness, ma'am" the walls were a plain white, covered with black paint splashes. A little couch was down the window, almost full with clean clothes. There was a black wall where the bedhead was settled, which was covered with movie and songs phrases, written with white and gold sharpie.

There was one that called Zoe's attention.

 _FUCK THE WORLD, 'CAUSE IT'S MY LIFE, I'M GONNA TAKE IT BACK._

"Try it. It helps" he offered her a white sharpie. She smiled while she took it, and started to write below the previous phrase.

 _NEVER, FOR A SECOND, BLAME YOURSELF._

She finished it with a little heart and gave the marker to his brother.

"Nice. Now, let's get the hell out of here's before they end that stupid thing" Connor said. He took a backpack and filled it with a change of clothes, his favorite pijama, random food he had on his room, money and nail polish. Yes, nail polish, he wanted to have a kind of sleepover. He closed it and took his cellphone, along with his favorite black hoodie.

"We going? She's waiting on me" Connor gave her another playfull look and started to walk in silence. "It's just a sleepover".

"I'm not sure I want to know what will happen. I don't think I may need the pair of scissors I have" Zoe laughed. They started walking as silent as possible, trying to make it to the door without being noticed.

Their parents were still talking with Aaron and Margaret Harris, while their kids were sitting uncomfortably.

Connor stopped to take a bottle of bourbon from the liquor cabinet. It was the slightest one from there, and he wanted Evan to try relaxing in another way, other than hitting himself with the wall.

"I want one" stated Zoe. He roled his eyes playfully, and took another.

When they made it to the front door and got out of there, is when they could breath.

"Shit. That was wild for my innocent body" stated Zoe as she laughed.

"With time it gets easier and easier. Where does that girl lives?" she gave him the direction and they stopped. "I just realized I didn't asked Evan where does he lives. Damn, I don't even know if he wants me there" he took his phone out.

 _ **Uhh, yeah, why not?**_

 _ **I'm sending the direction.**_

"Well, he lives a few streets past this girl. Imma drop you there and then I'll go to Hansen's".

As he said, he leaved his sister on the door of Alana, and then continued his journey to Evan's place.

His hands were sweaty, and his heart was beating pretty much in a wild way.

His shaky hand raised to knock when the door opened.

"Shit, Hansen. You almost gave me a heart attack", the shorter man started to laugh at how adorable the other looked with his hoodie up and the laces as tight as he could. "It's a damn cold night, so can I get in? My inexistent ass is freezing here", Evan opened the door more and the tallest boy got in.

The place was warm and sweet like a home should be. There was a hallway that leade to the bedrooms and the bathroom. The living room was kinda small, and what seemed like the kitchen was too.

In the living room there was a brown large couch and two that could hold just one person, alongside a small glass coffee table and a large TV.

Even though it seemed like Evan was the only one living there, it was pretty much clean; just some notebooks and papers lost around there, but else, it looked clean.

On the larger couch, a white blanket rested, alongside a grey shirt and a pair of Harry Potter pijama pants. Connor raised an eyebrow at that sight. Evan blushed and took it quickly off the view, fidgeting with the soft cloth.

"S-sorry, I was about to change my clothes when I h-heard you. Give me a second, m-make yourself comfortable", then he stormed into his bedroom. Connor did as Evan said, and took what he got out there. He tooked the bourbon out and placed it on the middle of the glass table. Then, he took out his dotted white pijama pants, anlongside his white t-shirt and a pair of comfty red, pink and black stripped socks. Evan came back, looking adorable and comfty wearing something else than blue shirts.

"Can I use you bathroom? Unless you can totally handle-"

"Use it. I-I'm still n-not used to s-see people a-almost... n-naked" his face turned crimsey red as he looked down and started fidgeting with a loosen thread. Connor smiled at this, and then went off to the bathroom. Evan took a second to look at the new bottle that was on his table.

"Uh, I see you found my little present. Sorry if it bothers you" Connor said with his clothes on his left hand. All over his arms, red, pink and white scars covered the view. "Oh. This? Don't worry, it´s been a while since I made them. I'm the new and best version of Connor fucking Murphy.C'mon, you can touch 'em" he encouraged the shorter man to go over him to see them. On his way, Evan turned on the light bulb.

Connor stretched his arm out, allowing Evan to examinate it. He started pacing his short fingers through the scars, making a shiver run through Connor's whole body. Then he just hugged the tallest man, wrapping his arms aroung his neck, filling him with the warmth he was missing, with joy, with hope. With true hope.

He wrapped his own arms aroung the body of the shorter as the room became cooler, thanks to the open window.

They wanted to stay like that. But they needed to move if they were going to do a sleepover... sorta.

* * *

 **Sorry for the wait, but i'm back. Leave a review if you liked this, and wait for the next chapter: the sleepover.**


	3. 3- Protective

A random movie was on the TV. Connor made his way to the kitchen to get two glasses.

"Do you have popcorn? Or something we can make to have a cool 'whatever the hell this is'?" asked Connor with a half smile. Evan nodded and started to search for popcorn. "Sorry to take the typical thought of _make yourself like home_ so straight. It's just that... well, I'm comfortable" he said while serving ice on the glasses. "Hey, have you tried alcohol or so? 'Cause I brought some. Wanna try?" he asked again as he went to the living room in search of the bourbon.

"I tried beer with Jared. And I drank wine once in my cousin Frank's house... so yeah" for once, his stutter wasn't there. He was feeling something near comfort around the taller boy. Connor made a strange noise with his nose and came back with the bottle. He poured it on both glasses and handed one to the anxious boy.

"Try it. It's sweeter than beer, and stronger than wine. You'll like it. Cheers" the taller gave a large gulp to the whiskey, letting it burn in his throat. Evan followed his example, just that he gave it a sip.

And he liked it. It was certainly sweet, and it burned, but it was burning less than beer.

The microwave beeped, indicating that the popcorn was ready. Evan reached for it and then he started to search for more thing to eat. He found chocolate, Sour Patch Kids and gummy bears.

They walked back to the living room and decided to watch another thing instead of the boring movie Evan had before Connor came. Actually, he didn't even knew why he had it on; maybe to shut down his thoughts.

"So, um, what is- um, what you want to watch?" Evan was anxious, like always. But the fact that Connor was there gave him an extra reason to worry about what he said. Connor stayed in silence for a bit, and then took the remote control.

"What kind of movies you like? 'Cause, honestly, I love terror and, even though I don't look like a guy that watches them, reality shows"

"Well... Queer Eye?" asked the shorter guy. The long haired smiled and nodded.

And they stayed up all night, watching Queer Eye, drinking and eating.

Until it was three in the morning, when they decided to put some horror.

Lights Out started and Evan curled up into a ball so that he could enjoy the movie properly. Thirty minutes in and they were close, almost hugging each other.

And there was a knock that made them both jump.

"Goddamn it!" Connor screamed as he paused the movie. Evan laughted a little, and Connor did it too, making sure to calm down and not to punch something.

Evan went to the door, only to find Jared standing there, sobbing and with some trace of blood.

"Jared! What happened?" Connor heard the worry on Evan's voice and inmediatly went to see what was happening. He saw him standing on the rain, with an open wound on his forehead, a broken nose and a busted lip; his clothes were completely destroyed, and his glasses were on his hand, broken.

Protectively, he took him to the inside and wraped a hand around his waist, making him whince at the sudden touch. Not that Connor cared, though.

"Can you clean the sofa and get some meds?" Connor asked on a gently way. Evan nodded, horrified, and ran to the couch to clean it; then, he ran to the bathroom and started to look for an aid kit.

Meanwhile, Connor gently laid down Jared on the sofa and started to get his shirt off.

"What the fuck are you doing, Murphy? Invite me a glass first at least" Jared said sarcastically. Connor rolled his eyes and finished taking it off, leaving the shorter boy's chest to his sight. It was full of bruises, ocasional cuts and cigarrette burns. The taller boy took a deep breath and grinted his teeths, trying to control himself.

"It's no time for jokes, Kleinman. And even if it was, I don't feel like answering to one".

"Then on what mood are you?".

"On the mood of killing your fucking father" he quietly mumbled. He took a long stare at Jared's face, which was covered in rain, blood and tears, and started to get impatient.

Finally, Evan came back and they started to clean the wounds of their... wathever the hell was Jared for them.

After half an hour of cleaning and putting bandages, they could finally sit.

"I-I have some c-clothes that can f-fit pretty well" Evan said before going to his room to take some clothes. Jared and Connor remained silent.

"How did you know that it was my father?" asked Jared. Connor sighed, and turned to face him.

"Last time it was him. It's always him" he said. "And I was serious about killing him. If you let me-"

"No, Connor. It's fine. But thanks" he smiled and Connor tried to smile back. Evan came back and gave the clothes to his family friend. Jared stood and hugged him, shocking both Evan and Connor. "I'm sorry for being an ass with you, Ev. I really wish you were my friend" after that, he locked himself on the bathroom. Evan sat by the side of Connor, thinking just in the words his friend just told him.

"I... What the h-hell was t-that?" he asked. Connor stared blankly at the TV.

"I dunno... maybe he just wants to be less of an asshole right now?" Connor asked. Evan nodded and stared blankly at the floor. The light sound of the door opening brought him back to reality and they stood up.

"Calm down... i'm just bruised, not dying".

"Well, you look like you're dying, Jared" said Connor. The other boy smirked at the sound of his name and mumbled something. "Don't fall in love with me saying your name, Kleinman.."

"There you go... "mumbled Jared.

"W-well... w-what if we j-just go back to s-see the f-freaking movie a-and we just... forget this? J-Jared looks like h-he needs some distraction" everyone nodded and they headed back to the couch, where Connor curled up and passed an arm through Jared's back so that the boy felt welcome.

Still, Connor didn't know why the hell he was being that protective.

Maybe -and just maybe-, it was because he went through that.

But those memories were blacked out of his mind, so that they wouldn't hurt.

* * *

 **There ya go. Sorry for the long wait, school is killing me; i'm surprised I haven't thrown up out of stress yet.**


	4. 4- Yikes

_Warning: mention (not explicit) of sex._

He liked Jared. He always did. Since kindergarten, he loved his laugh, and his hair, and the way his blue eyes shined. But he wasn't brave, at all. And he kinda hated himself for it.

Still, in middle school, he finally gathered the courage he needed to ask him out. Well, kinda.

"Hey, Kleinman," he said, running to his side, feeling his hands a little bit sweaty. "You, me, A La Mode after school. You in?" Jared looked confused. But he nodded anyway and smiled him a bit. Truth be told, Connor was kind of his crush, but he was just too scared to admit it and actually start chasing him.

So they went to buy some ice-cream. Sitting under an oak tree, they talked and shared shitty stories of their childhoods. Like the time that Jared's dad was so drunk that he had beaten the shit out of him, or when Connor took Zoe's nail polish and painted his nails, and then when his dad found out he yelled at him for that.

Two hours passed by, and neither of them noticed it. It wasn't until Zoe called him, worried, that he noticed how long they had been there.

"Shit! My dad's going to kill me" said Jared, starting to get nervous. Connor got up, taking him by the shoulders, and stared at him.

"Hey, he won't, I won't allow it. I'll tell him that it was my fault and that we were doing some school shit, okay?" Jared nodded, but still, he couldn't bring himself to stay calm. They walked towards Connor's car, and he stared at the tree they were recently under. He smiled and jumped in the car.

Connor drove him home, which made him feel better.

But Connor was a hot mess.

Like, an actual mess.

He couldn't stop thinking about the fact that maybe the shitty father that Jared had was going to be mad at him for his fault.

Jared came almost free of any corporal damage. Almost, if we counted the dark circles under his eyes.

Weeks went by, and Connor was positive that their relationship was going farther. And that scared the hell out of him, but it was okay. Jared was the only one that could handle his rage problem and troubled persona.

And the day came.

Three months into their relationship and Jared just said: "fucking hell, I want you". That was the only thing that Connor needed to hear before he sent his clothes to God-knows-where and took him to the bed.

One more month went by before it all came down.

It started with a tiny fight about who should shower first after their sex session, and then about how they would get out of the closet in front of their families. Jared was scared as hell, which was understandable.

And Connor, God, Connor didn't even know how to start to think about it. His father was going to start a war between everyone; because Connor obviously didn't care what his father thought of him, he never did, neither what his sister of mother did too, but that didn't mean that he wanted to have his family —even more— divided.

A week later, Jared took a last deep breath to make sure that Connor's full-of-weed smell stayed with him for long.

"So, uh... I guess that this is all, isn't it?" said Connor, uncomfortable, hands in the front pockets of his —now on— pants.

"Yeah, I guess..." Jared finished. They both stood there, not wanting to be the first to walk away. "One last fuck and smoke?" he suggested, and the other boy nodded.

And that was how Connor and Jared got their first heartbreak at the sweet age of fifteen.

"Connor!" Evan was standing in front of him, pacing nervously. "Sorry to y-yell at you, I didn't mean to do it, but it's just that I need to clean the mess before my mom comes home and I can't clean the couch because you're in the couch and sorry to bother you and please don't hurt me" he ranted. Connor lifted an eyebrow and got up on his feet.

"Oh, yeah, sure. Don't worry" he took the bottle in the table and hid it inside his backpack. "I'll help you clean my shit" he mumbled and started to pick up the fallen popcorn. "Where's-"

"He's resting on my bed. Sorry to interrupt" said Evan.

"Don't be. Y'know, you apologize a lot. Stop it, it's kinda creepy" Evan nodded and continued cleaning without saying anything.

Meanwhile, Connor got lost in his thoughts... again. He wanted to throw up just thinking about how sweet and cheesy he was during that time. But oh, did he miss Jared. Well, not all of him, because he was an ass, but he missed his marvelous tongue and...

"Connor, can you please move your feet? I-if you don't want to I get it" the other boy mumbled. He nodded and walked out of his way. Evan mumbled _thanks_ while he picked up other popcorn from the carpet and, finally, he closed the plastic bag. "We should probably check on Jared."

"Yeah, he's a sneaky bitch. Let's hope he didn't escape through the window" Connor was showing a little smirk, which gave Evan the confidence to silently laugh along.

They walked and he was there, his eyes glued to the ceiling.

"You have a nice ceiling, Evs" he mumbled without taking his eyes off it. Evan scratched the back of his neck and nodded.

"Thank you... I guess" the other boy said nothing.

They heard the front door get open and Jared panicked.

"Uh, don't worry, it's just my mom" Evan ran to the living room.

"Hi, sweetie. What are you doing up so late?" she asked as Evan shifted his weight to his other leg, awkwardly. Connor emerged from his bedroom and waved his hand, uncomfortable. "Oh, hi. I'm Heidi, Evan's mom."

"Huh, good night, miss Hansen" he replied. She shook his hand and he jerked away, not knowing why.

"Jared's here too" Evan whispered. "I'm sorry, if you want them to leave I'll just-"

"No, honey. It's okay. It's more than okay. They can stay as long as they want" they nodded and she smiled, widely, proud of her son. Connor excused himself and went back to Evan's room, leaving him with his mother.

A couple of minutes later, he practically ran back to his bedroom, finding Connor cleaning some more traces of blood.

"This shit's not healing, Kleinman. We need to get you to the hospital" Connor said, almost worried.

"My mom's a nurse. She can help us" Connor looked at Evan, expectantly, and he finally understood that it meant that he had to get his mom.

"Is fine. I'm okay."

"No, you're not, Jared. You went through this exact same shit when..." he paused. Something blocked his throat, and he was almost positive that it wasn't food.

"Oh, so you remember" Jared smirked.

"How the fuck am I supposed to forget the times you came to my house with your whole body bruised and bleeding from everywhere?" he asked, raising his voice.

"Jared, what happened? This looks serious" Heidi asked, worried.

"It's fine. I just..." he looked over at Evan, who was standing behind his mother, and Connor, who was staring at him. He sighed. "I got beat up by my father..."

"Oh my God, why?" she asked as she started to do a quick scan.

"Because he felt on the mood."

"Jared..." warned Connor. "Be honest." Jared sighed again and sat the best he could.

"Because I'm a... fag." He stopped, seeing the deadpan face that Connor made. "Because I'm gay."

"Why the fuck did he do that? He doesn't have the right to do something like that only..." Heidi continued to rant about how his father should be supportive, but he wasn't really listening. Instead, he was only looking at Connor, mentally thanking him for making him speak, which lead to an adult who supported him.

Connor's phone rang, and he went outside of the room to answer it.

"Hey. Are you staying over at Evan's?" It was Zoe.

"Huh, yeah, I am. Um, Kleinman appeared all beat up and Evan's mother is taking care of him."

"Oh God, is he okay? What happened?" she asked.

"As much as I love to gossip about my classmates, it is not my place to tell you, little sister. I gotta go, bye." He said. She said goodbyes and made him promise to tell her everything he could when they got home.

"So, Jared... who was the boy who made you realize that?" He swallowed, hard. Connor stopped death and looked directly into his eyes.

"Huh, nobody that matters." Yikes.

That hit something inside Connor and it felt awful.

"Oh."

"I mean, yes, he matters to me, he will always matter to me, but I... I just don't think that he wants me to tell people that he is gay... " That was better.

Connor stared at him for the rest of the night, not allowing himself to get some sleep in order to take care of Jared.

Not that he should, but he felt like it. He owed him a lot, and he was willing to do everything to pay him for it.

The first step was to get the annoying lawyer of the family on his side.

Yikes. That was going to be like hell.

* * *

 _I'm back. Sorry, sorry, I know, I left again. School is a real hell, and I'm proud to tell y'all that leaving here (as much as it hurt me) that now I have better grades. Still, I'll be back really soon, I already have more chapters in mind (and some are in writing progress). So yeah, tell me what you hope for this thing, and what you like about it._

 _PS: Zoe and Alana's night is basically the next chapter._


End file.
